# Vinyasa Yoga vs. Hatha Yoga



## Amethyst (Jan 18, 2006)

Does anyone know what *"Vinyasa Flow"* yoga is? I was taking Hatha yoga classes and now I might have to switch because of the schedule changes. I may have found a Vinyasa Flow class &amp; tried to look online for a good explanation but I can't find one. I want to know how different it would be from Hatha yoga.

Any help is appreciated - thanks.


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## VenusGoddess (Jan 18, 2006)

Vinyasa is more of a flowing yoga. Where you fluidly move from one pose to the next. The concentration is on fluid movement, stretching, strengthening, and breathing.

Hatha is more just for stretching and breathing. It's a great class to take after a good weight lifting session to stretch out sore muscles. It's concentration is also on quieting the mind and listening to the body (well, all yoga is, but with hatha being more "static-non-movement" it is more readily achieved).

HTH


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## Amethyst (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks! That does help a lot. I have some injuries to be mindful of, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting into one of those super power yoga classes if and when I do switch over.

Thanks a lot:icon_bigg


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## eightthirty (Jan 19, 2006)

I'm about to start back on Yoga! I really liked the Vinyasa style Yoga. If you've been doing Hatha for awhile you should be able to get the hang of it, fairly easily. I have tendonitis in my knees, right shoulder and hips and I'm able to do it without pain.


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## Amethyst (Jan 19, 2006)

Really? That's encouraging, because I was wondering if I could handle it or not.


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## VenusGoddess (Jan 20, 2006)

Even an "easy" movement can be the "wrong" move. When you go into the class, be sure to tell the instructor, exactly, what the pain/injury is so that, if needed, they can give you alternative poses. Yoga is not a class that you encourages you to "stretch through the pain". And, I don't think it's good, either. You have a pain there for a reason and it's best to respect your body and not try to push past it.

Vinyasa Flow is very good...it IS very challenging in the fact that you strive to make your movements flow...which means learning how to control your body with grace.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> I think you should still try it...but if you are wanting to take a class that will help you while you're injured, you may want to consider sticking with Hatha until you feel well enough to move on.


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## Amethyst (Jan 20, 2006)

I think I'm going to try it; at least one or two classes to see how it is. My current Yoga class was moved to a night I can not attend so unless that changes, I need to find an alternative. Since I've been doing Hatha for a few months now, maybe I'm ready for a little bit more. I'll keep you folks posted how it goes. Thanks.:icon_bigg


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## Becka (Jan 21, 2006)

I was doing vinyasa yoga often last year, and I handled it fine even w/ an inflamed shoulder. Day after is sometimes rough but I found that the second day after a class I had almost completely relieved the inflammation I get in my shoulder. I start a weekly spin/yoga class on Monday, which could very well be torture, don't know yet, but after that class is done I plan to get back into vinyasa regularly, for the strengthening and pain management aspect, it works wonders.

As long as you go at your own pace you should be fine, I totally recommend it, plus I find it a lot of fun.


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